UN Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the International Criminal Court Prosecutor: Investigate the Possibility that Israel is Committing the Crime of Genocide Against the Palestinian People

Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miri Regev on Monday attended a soccer game between Beitar Jerusalem, a team known for its and its fans’ anti-Arab racism, and Bnei Sakhnin, an Arab squad from northern Israel. At the end of a short message encouraging and praising a sportsmanlike atmosphere at the game, the fans gathered around her break out into chants of “burn down your village” (alternatively translated as “May your village be burned”). She continues smiling and says nothing.

One must ask why a senior government minister who is no stranger to social media decided not to edit out the final seconds of the video. It would be hard to blame her for the reactions of people around her, some of whom clearly were looking to provoke on camera. But the decision to publish genocidal chants is troubling.